Dad
The first of the group – Rachel, we both learned a lot from each other. It ran the gamut. From peace to passion. She was the first in the “Snuggly”, a papoose sling kinda thing. It was made out of blue corduroy. The first to go to Alice Birney Elementary School. Rachel has never lost her distaste for a plastic wrapped sandwich. I know as she reads this she experiences revulsion at the thought. I tried to get her to appreciate a well stocked lunch by sending her to school with only a soda cracker in a brown paper bag (I know, pretty cruel, huh?) Backfired. She thought it was great. I think it provided a quicker route to the playground. Rachel is the only child I can remember that I was so mad at once that I opened her bedroom door and put the doorknob through the sheetrock wall (hey, I was young…)
Her world travels started early. As a freshman she spent a few weeks in Germany with a school group. I think she went early and made her own way for the most part. Are any of us surprised now? Once I dropped Rachel off at a Church dance and watched her go in the front door. I found out later she walked out the back door and went to another party with a guy friend. Rachel drove her siblings to violin practice. She would take detours and drive out onto the Mad River gravel bar and show them where she had gone Steelhead fishing. Cal Bingham gave her a shotgun. Rachel built gun cabinets and drafting tables. She raced BMX bikes. She brought home a herd of ducklings and built a pond in the backyard. She adopted a baby pig orphaned by one of her friend’s dad’s pig hunt. It lived in our garage for a while.
All of her talents, bravery, craziness, and charisma came into focus when I looked up into that Redding sky and saw a pink smoke plume rocketing to the earth and some dude on a loud speaker said that was Golden Knight Sergeant Rachel Medley. A lot of thoughts went quickly through my head. One of which was “open that chute, Rachel!”
One thing is certain – Rachel is an achiever and adventurer – anything is more fun and exciting when she is around. She’s the kind of girl you want on your team, and I get to be her dad! Miss ya, and have a great Birthday, Rachel
Mom
I remember how excited Rachel was about each new sibling. I heard stories of the older kids and jealousy but it never happened. She was always jumping all around at the news, then playing with the baby at every opportunity, then taking the little ones on great adventures outside with sticks, boards, blankets and her endless imagination.
I will never forget sitting in the EHS auditorium watching Rachel play the Bach Double with Alicia Gibbs as a freshman in High School. She was so confident and lived to make music. It was beautiful. I loved to hear her perform on the piano in recitals--she was excellent. With these outstanding events, one would never know that when she was youger, I really thought Rachel was tone deaf. She could not sing without help and tuning was always a fiasco in grade school. Then one day it all changed. I don't remember when, but suddenly she knew the sounds perfectly and then her singing caught up around mid-high school age. I'll forever remember singing with her in ward choir, second soprano for a couple of months.
Sarah
Memories of Rachel!
So many. So so many. Going to Bonomini's after school and buying $5 worth of penny candy... that's a lot of candy! Her buying a pig, driving race car style down the Ag. hill... driving to and from violin lessons, also race car style... talking late into the night... going to the river with crazy wigged out people....stealing her clothes... her stealing mine... crying... laughing.. being friends as adults while she lived in Salt lake... dating crazies, living with crazies, dumping crazies... being a thousand different things, having a thousand different careers... visiting me and my kids... being forever skinny and smart and funny and gifted... hanging out in Florida...
Rachel is so special. Too special. I talked to her on her birthday and she said she was going out to eat, then going home to hang out with her cat... that sounds mighty nice right about now as I wrestle Matilda for the keyboard and the rest of the little ones are whining!!! love you Rache, happy birthday!!!
Hannah
The free spirit. Rachel you have always been a friend to me.... well.... I guess we have had our moments of pure rival enemies but it was worth every fight. I think we are kindred spirits because of our fierce independence. I love that about you.
When I think of the greatest bonding moment with you and I, my mind is often drawn back to the dark blizzard we drove through on the way to Yreka from Redding. We were in the little blue Jetta. Half an hour in to the drive, we had to chain up. We drove and drove. Finally when we came to a town, we got off the freeway for a few minutes. As we returned from a freeway entrance north, there was no one on the freeway (found out later, it was closed, that's why). There were no tracks. Just pure powdery white snow for miles. We would stop and wipe the snow off the lights every few minutes. We could see no more than a few feet in front of us. Yet we continued on. When we arrived to Butte Summit is when it began to completely white out. The blizzard was so intense, we couldn't see anything. At that moment I wondered what our fate would be. Would we die out here stuck in a little blue car all night? It happens. In the white of the blizzard there were faint flashing lights and we could tell we were getting closer. We stopped at the car that we found stuck in the snow drift close to the shoulder (I guess it was the shoulder, who knows). When we approached we found two sisters and a little boy about a year or two old. They lived close but were stranded. They swam through the waste deep snow to our car and we headed up the hill to their house. Half way us we were officially stuck. We hiked (or swam) through the snow to their house. There is where we stayed that night. Under an electric blanket. That was the night we almost met our Maker. That was the night we rescued a few young dumb girls, just like us and a little kid. That was a night I will never forget as long as I live.
There is no other person on earth I would have rather shared that experience with Rache, you are the best.
And we still went snowboarding the next day.
Happy Birthday Rachie! Stay true to yourself, you are an amazing woman.
Jared
I remember that on one of the greatest days of my life, the day my mission came to an end, Rachel showed up. Her and Dad came in to town on a bus held together by chicken wire. I proceeded to show them around the city for the next 2 days, wide-eyed, crammed into "shapas" speeding all over town, on the brink of death at every turn, not to be swayed. Rachel has always been able to become completely at home in any place after just a short time. After only 2 days in Mozambique, leaving the few people she had only just met brought her to tears. Rachel has a tremendous capacity to love and learn. She has been going non-stop since I have known her, and that's what I love about her. Keep it up Roach.
Miriam
My guardian. Capture, short hair that made me want to cut mine short in fourth grade, Shakespeare, teaching me what third position was when i was trying to play the bach double at age 5, Tommy Boy, The Messiah, books books books, teaching you that Chopin prelude, straight A's at CR, sharing clothes, Strictly Ballroom and many other movies, music music music, hanging out in NC at Sarah's then coming back to Utah and having too much fun.
Rachel, you've been on so many adventures in your life and with each and every one of them I hold memories very close to my heart. We've had many great intellectual conversations and emotional conversations and you have always been such a special part of my growing up. I love you with all my heart Roach. Love, your forever guardian.
P.S Remember when we went backpacking in April up Canyon Creeks? We slept on the flat rock surrounded by snow...I have since learned the power of snow gear. And then we ate dried apricots on the way back and had the worst gas. Good times.
Gideon
Rachel- The backyard in the Oregon street house was the host of many a game. Capture was a daily thing, and my character of choice was a ninja. Even with my head wrapped in a sock, however, Rachel never ceased to have enough magical power to defeat me. I have a specific memory of laying on the garage floor under her witch spell with all the other siblings. I decided to finally unleash my ninja skills and destroy this paper-clips-on-her-fingers-for-witch-nails villain. Of course, without hesitation Rachel said, "Chiaaa-a-a" and re-cast the spell upon me with her broom. I'm pretty sure she was wearing a cape too. I don't remember much else so the spell must have worked. We miss you Roach.
Gideon.
Naomi
Rachel is definitely the epidemy of style. So jealous. I remember when she worked in New York and would send us pictures and packages with cool seasonal decorations. I always wanted to be the one to put everything up. I usually got my way too. Rachel takes pictures of the places she's been with her foot in the picture, to prove she took it. She always has awesome shoes and they will always be too big for me. Rachel lived with us when she went through EMT training. She had a cot in Miriam's room for a while. We would stay up late, go fun places and embody the crazy medley girls that we were. Right after my 16th birthday, Rachel enlisted in the army. I remember being so proud of her. She was so matter of fact about the whole thing. She would send us letters and give us phone calls from all the places she went.
two years ago, Jared and I went to visit Rachel in NoCakalaka. It was so much fun. Rachel took my skydiving. The BEST experience of my life. I love telling people that my sister jumps out of planes for a living. My oldest sister is the greatest.
I never tire of telling people about my wonderful sister and all the things she has done in her live, all the adventures that she has endeavors.
Last year on Rachel's birthday, I called her from Disneyland when I was on my honeymoon. I knew I shouldn't have called anyone but I couldn't take it. I had to call her.
I love you so much Rachel and hope you have the best birthday eva!!
